Audiobook Review: SAVVY

Audiobook Review, Genre 6, SAVVY

Author: Ingrid Law

Title: Savvy (unabridged)

Read by: Lily Blau (adult)

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Publication Date: 2008

ISBN: 9780143143482

Format: CD

Number of discs: 8

Plot summary: Recounts the adventures of Mibs Beaumont and her family and friends just as she turns 13 and her "savvy" is revealed. Will her special savvy power be able to save her beloved Poppa after he gets in a terrible accident?

Sound quality, effects: I would rate the sound quality of the audiobook CD as excellent. I had no issues with static or erratic volume control. It helped that the CDs were in good condition, despite being 8 years old. This audiobook did not use sound effects.

Reading: Lily Blau was the reader of the audiobook of Savvy. According to the packaging, she is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and has spent time as an actress in the theatre. Using clear pronunciation, Blau created voices for each of the characters in the book (very common in audiobooks with one reader). The voices were distinct and after a while, you could tell which character was talking before they were identified. I liked how she made the voices of Will Sr. and Will Jr. very similar as they are father and son in the book – the cadence was the same and the difference was the pitch. The only character voice that grated on my nerves was Grandpa Beaumont – it seemed a very stereotypical voice one would use for senior adults.

Front and backmatter: Reader Lily Blau gave the front and backmatter in a very efficient manner. The only music was at the very beginning of the book and at the very end while the reader gave the bibliographical information for the audiobook.  

Listening experience: I listened to this audiobook CD in my car and only when my 12-year-old son was with me. I wasn’t sure if my son would enjoy listening to the audiobook until he ordered me not to listen to the book without him!  It became an experience we shared together which gave me insight to a child’s perspective of the audiobook. We both found the audiobook entertaining and it quickly engaged our interest. Sometimes I would pause the audiobook to discuss a plot twist or air a theory on the main character’s “savvy.” There was one line: “some people don’t know they have a savvy. Like people who never get bitten by mosquitos.” My son and I immediately laughed and discussed that his dad (my husband) must have an anti-bite savvy because he NEVER gets bitten by mosquitos!

Critical analysis: The story of Savvy opens with an explanation of the book’s setting, located in the middle of America at Kansas and Nebraska. The characters spend most of the book traveling on a pink bus – which sounds silly but is very believable with the descriptions that helps the reader visualize the surroundings.  The plot centers around the main character, Mibs Beaumont, and her journey to get to her father, who was hospitalized after a horrific car accident. True to the fantasy format, the plot involves obstacles to overcome (Mibs learning to control her savvy) and villains to vanquish (evil girlfriend Charlene and the goody-two-shoes Rosemary Meeks).

The author’s writing style was humorous, causing listeners to laugh. The theme of family love and unity flowed throughout the book. As listeners learn about Mibs through her feelings and her savvy, they stand behind her, feeling distraught when things look bleak for Mibs and cheer for her when she finally makes it to the hospital to see her father.

Overall, the experience I had listening to a book on CD with my son in the car was rewarding in that he asked to listen to more audiobooks. Because of this one positive experience, my son has now listened to two more audiobooks and we are currently on our third. We have even branched out to listening to Playaway, an all-in-one audiobook format that you can take anywhere. We check these out from our local public library and all you need to listen to a Playaway is one AAA battery and a set of earbuds (or a cord to hook up to your car stereo). I suspect my son’s trend of audiobook listening will continue to evolve into a habit!

Connections:

• Listeners can learn more about author Ingrid Law at her website: http://www.ingridlaw.com/about

• Other audiobooks by Ingrid Law featuring the Beaumont family:

1. Scumble, ISBN: 9780142428146
2. Switch, ISBN: 9781101925690

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. November 27, 2016.

Law, Ingrid, and Lily Blau. 2008. Savvy. New York: Penguin Audio. 9780143143482

Book Review: AMERICAN BORN CHINESE

Book Review, Genre 6, AMERICAN BORN CHINESE

Author: Gene Luen Yang

Title: American Born Chinese

Illustrator: Gene Luen Yang

Publisher: First Second

Publication Date: 2006

ISBN: 9781596431522

Plot summary: A graphic novel that alternates between three interrelated stories about the problems of young Chinese Americans trying to participate in popular culture.

Critical analysis: I am not very familiar with the graphic novel genre. I wasn’t sure which book to review for this blog until I heard American Born Chinese mentioned in a The Librarian Is In podcast by the New York Public Library. One of the podcast hosts said American Born Chinese was the best graphic novel he had ever read. I thought that if it was good enough for a New York Public librarian, it was good enough for me! Since reading American Born Chinese, I have checked out several other graphic novels to test the waters, so to speak. I’m still not comfortable with the genre, but I do appreciate it.

Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese offers striking visuals while weaving together three seemingly different stories. Each story line is separated by a lone red drawing on a stark white page, letting the reader know who’s story is next: the Monkey King, Jin, or Danny. It’s not until the reader is 200+ pages in that the three separate stories suddenly transform into one – in text and in illustrations.

Each of the three stories provide believable and entertaining plots of quests to accomplish, friendships to grow, and obstacles to overcome. The settings of the stories are either in China or in America and each story has a universal theme that transcends time and place leaving the reader contemplating their own family history and asking how they show love to family members.

Author Yang’s writing style is humorous and his illustrations enforce the humor, especially the pouty faces of the Monkey King. Readers might find the exaggerated Chinese stereotype language of cousin Chin-Kee shocking at first (“Harro Amellica!” p. 48, or “Would Cousin Da-Nee rike to tly Chin-Kee’s clispy flied cat gizzards wiff noodle?” p. 114) but then the reader gets the joke.

I thought it interesting that American Born Chinese was the first graphic novel to be recognized by the Michael L. Printz Committee.

Review excerpt:

• 2006 National Book Award, finalist
• 2006 Cybils Awards, winner
• 2007 Michael L. Printz Award, winner
• 2007 James Cook Book Award, honorable book
• 2007 White Ravens Award, winner

• Booklist, Sept. 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 1), by Jesse Karp: With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang (Rosary Comic Book) focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Jin is a boy faced with the casual racism of fellow students and the pressure of his crush on a Caucasian girl; the Monkey King, a character from Chinese folklore, has attained great power but feels he is being held back because of what the gods perceive as his lowly status; and Danny, a popular high-school student, suffers through an annual visit from his cousin Chin-Kee, a walking, talking compendium of exaggerated Chinese stereotypes.

• Children’s Literature by Susie Wilde: Yang’s graphic stories skip around from the disgusting to the sublime, his tongue firmly in his cheek as he illustrates first love, booger-eating, bullying, friendship, and shame. He uses subtle coloring and bolded text to emphasize his points. As you read you see the connection of all the characters who fight their way out of the boxes designed for them by others. The contemporary stories and the fable come together in terms of plot and theme as the characters enter each others stories, revealing and transforming themselves as the tales merge.

• Publishers Weekly: Yang accomplishes the remarkable feat of practicing what he preaches with this book: accept who you are and you'll already have reached out to others. 

Connections:

• Other books by author and illustrator Gene Luen Yang:

1. Level Up, ISBN: 9781596432352
2. The Shadow Hero, ISBN: 9781596436978
3. The Eternal Smile: Three Stories, ISBN: 9781596431560
4. Boxers, ISBN: 9781596433595
5. Saints, ISBN: 9781596436893
6. Animal Crackers, ISBN: 9781593621834

• Students can view author Yang’s video podcasts at http://geneyang.com/reading-without-walls-video-podcast
• Readers can learn more about author Yang by visiting his web site: http://geneyang.com/

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. November 27, 2016.

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second, 2006.9781596431522

Book Review: SPEAK

Book Review, Genre 6, SPEAK

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Speak

Illustrator: Filomena Tuosto

Publisher: Square Fish

Publication Date: 1999

ISBN: 9780312674397

Plot summary: While at a teen drinking party near the end of summer, freshman Melinda Sordino is raped. The traumatic event has a devastating effect on Melinda's school year. Will she be able to recover and find her voice again?

Critical analysis: The definition of the verb “speak” is to say something in order to convey information, an opinion, or a feeling. In the realistic fiction young adult novel Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, main character Melinda Sordino is unable to give information about being raped, is unable to voice her opinion about the boy that raped her, and is unable to feel the excitement of being a high schooler. The knee jerk reaction is the theme of the book is about rape recovery. In fact, the theme of depression is not stated too obviously – it is only when the reader questions Melinda’s eating habits, sleeping habits, mood swings, and sliding grades that the idea of depression is brought up.

Young adult readers will be able to relate to the school year setting as they traverse Melinda’s freshman year of high school. The plot has a few twists and turns as the trauma of being raped is revealed in flashbacks as the school year progresses. The style of writing seems natural and believable – you can imagine yourself as a 14-year-old thinking the same snarky mental comments as Melinda: “My Spanish teachers breaks the ‘no English’ rule to tell us that we had better stop pretending we don’t understand the homework assignments … I don’t know why she hasn’t figured it out yet. If she just taught us all the swear words the first day, we would have done whatever she wanted the rest of the year” (p. 51).

What spoke to me most about the gender and culture of Speak was that a girl’s view of rape and depression was heard. At the end of the book author Anderson answers questions about her novel. The question that showed a boy’s view of Speak was: “Have any readers ever asked questions that shocked you?” Anderson answered: “I have gotten one question repeatedly from young men. These are guys who liked the book, but they are honestly confused. They ask me why Melinda was so upset about being raped. … I realized that many young men are not being taught the impact that sexual assault has on a woman.” Anderson closes with a battle cry of discussing rape with teenagers and providing assistance resources for victims.

Review excerpt:

• 2003 Volunteer State Book Award, winner
• 2000 Carolyn W. Field Award, winner
• 2000 Golden Kite Award, award book
• 1999 National Book Award, finalist

• Booklist, Sept. 15, 1999 (Vol. 96, No. 2) by Debbie Carton: “In her YA fiction debut, Anderson perfectly captures the harsh conformity of high-school cliques and one teen's struggle to find acceptance from her peers. Melinda's sarcastic wit, honesty, and courage make her a memorable character whose ultimate triumph will inspire and empower readers.”

• Children’s Literature by Maggie Meacham: “The author's sharp eye for the absurdities of high school life, and of our media crazed society, like the constant renaming of the high school football team to insure political correctness, add sardonic humor that will appeal to teens. But the novel's real power lies in the story of Melinda's gradual reclaiming of herself through the help of a compassionate art teacher, her concerned parents, and some caring students, and of her ultimate redemption as she finally finds the courage to speak.”

• Kirkus Reviews: “The plot is gripping and the characters are powerfully drawn, but it is its raw and unvarnished look at the dynamics of the high school experience that makes this a novel that will be hard for readers to forget.”

Connections:

• Readers can learn more about author Anderson at http://madwomanintheforest.com/laurie/
• Readers can watch the movie based on the book: Speak ASIN: B000A7Q2I2
• Other Young Adult books by author Anderson:

1. The Impossible Knife of Memory, ISBN: 9780670012091
2. Wintergirls, ISBN: 9780142415573
3. Twisted, ISBN: 9780786298853
4. Prom, ISBN: 0670059749
5. Catalyst, IBSN: 0670035661

Bibliography

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Square Fish, 1999. 9780312674397

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. November 27, 2016.

Book Review: THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE

Book Review, Genre 5: THE EVOLUTION OF CALPURNIA TATE      

Author: Jacqueline Kelly

Title: The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

Illustrator: April Ward

Publisher: Henry Hold and Company

Publication Date: 2009

ISBN: 978-0-8050-8841-0

Plot summary: In central Texas in 1899, eleven-year-old Callie Vee Tate resists the instructions of her mother to be a lady; learns about love the hard way from the older three of her six brothers; and studies the natural world with her grandfather -- which leads to an important discovery that changes her life.

Critical analysis: Like the evolution of a polliwog into a frog or a caterpillar into a butterfly, readers watch the character of 11-year-old Calpurnia Tate evolve in the historical fiction book The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. We watch Calpurnia grow in knowledge of the world around her and in frustration at the restraints placed on women from the summer of 1899 to New Year’s Day 1900. Calpurnia wants more out of life than what is expected of young women at the turn of the century: keeping house, cooking, and needlepoint. “I pulled my sampler from my sewing bag and looked at it. It had started out life as a perfect square but had evolved into a skewed rhomboid, with all the letters learning sharply to the right. How were you supposed to make the stitches the same size? How were you supposed to keep the tension even? And, most of all, who cared about this stuff?/Well, I could answer the last one. My mother cared, and the rest of the world apparently did too, for no good reason that I could figure out” (p. 216-217). Author Kelly keeps up a running theme throughout the book that does an adequate job of teaching readers how the attitudes towards women’s lifestyles today have changed since 1899.

The book’s setting of rural Fentress, Texas, is vividly described: the heat, the landscape, modes of travel, clothing, types of chores, the insects, the animals. For example: “The heat was a misery for all of us in Fentress, but it was the women who suffered the most in their corsets and petticoats” (p. 1-2). And: “On the long drive back to Fentress, my grandfather and I had energy to spare. We burned up some of it singing sea chanteys and pirate songs with naughty words, being careful to switch to hymns when other riders came into view. We made it home at dinnertime, dusty and worn out but still elated by our day” (p. 178).

The plot of the story centers on Calpurnia’s desire to do something more with her life than become a wife and mother. She is a very curious and observant child that wants to learn about the world around her. It was a book that brought her to the attention of her preoccupied grandfather: “He extracted a book covered in rich green morocco leather handsomely tipped with gold. He polished it with his sleeve, although I could see no dust on it. Ceremoniously, he bowed and offered it to me. I looked at it. The Origin of Species. Here, in my own house. I received it in both my hands. He smiled. Thus began my relationship with Granddaddy” (p. 21).

The style of writing did not strike me as overly historical. I felt the yes sirs and ma’ams were correct for the time. I felt that Calpurnia’s respect for her elders and her manners were correct for the time. But the dialogue, in my opinion, did not capture the speech patterns of Texas in 1899. Perhaps this is because the author is originally from New Zealand and raised in Canada. While Kelly currently lives in Texas, she is somewhat new to Texas and southern vernacular which might explain her writing style.

I felt like the book ended at a good spot: Calpurnia made a list of things she would like to see and do before she dies. One item on her list was to see snow – something that even today is not a common sight in Texas. At the very end of the book it does snow and Calpurnia revels in its pureness before anyone else is up and about for the day. While the book ended on a happy note, I felt like there was more to Calpurnia’s story. I was pleased to find out there is another book about Calpurnia (The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate ISBN: 9780805097443) and I can’t wait to read it.

Review excerpt:

• 2010 John Newbery Medal Honor Book
• 2010 Winner of the Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children’s Literature
• 2010 winner of the IRA Children’s and Young Adults’ Book Award

• Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2009 (Vol. 77, No. 7): The year is 1899, the place Texas and the problem is 11-year-old Calpurnia Virginia Tate, who is supposed to want to cook, sew and attract future beaux, not play in the dirt, examine insects and, perhaps most suspect of all, read Darwin's controversial The Origin of Species, the source of the novel's chapter introductions. A natural-born scientist, she alone among her six brothers has discovered the rare specimen under her own roof a funny-smelling, rather antisocial grandfather who preoccupies himself with classifying flora and fauna...when he's not fermenting pecans for whiskey. Their budding friendship is thoughtfully and engagingly portrayed, as is the unfolding of the natural world's wonders under Calpurnia's ever-inquisitive gaze. Calpurnia is not a boilerplate folksy Southern heroine who spouts wise-beyond-her-years maxims that seem destined for needlepoint her character is authentically childlike and complex, her struggles believable. Readers will finish this witty, deftly crafted debut novel rooting for "Callie Vee" and wishing they knew what kind of adult she would become.

• The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, July/August 2009 (Vol. 62, No. 11) by Elizabeth Bush: Narrator Calpurnia s voice is fresh and convincing, and Granddaddy is that favorite relative most readers would love to claim as their own. Historical fiction fans are in for a treat.

• Children’s Literature by Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D:  This book presents an engaging piece of historical-fiction depicting the roles and expectations for women at the turn of the twentieth century. 

Connections:

• Readers can continue to follow Calpurnia’s story in:

The Curious World of Calpurnia Tate ISBN: 9780805097443

Calpurnia Tate, Girl Vet series by Kelly and coauthor Teagan White

• Jacqueline Kelly also wrote Return to the Willows ISBN: 9780805094138, a sequel to The Wind in the Willows.

• Readers can learn more about author Jacqueline Kelly by visiting her web site at www.jacquelinekelly.com

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 27, 2016.

Kelly, Jacqueline. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2009. 9780805088410

Book Review: THE MIDWIFE'S APPRENTICE

Book Review, Genre 5: THE MIDWIFE’S APPRENTICE

Author: Karen Cushman

Title: The Midwife’s Apprentice

Illustrator: Trina Schart Hyman

Publisher: Clarion Books

Publication Date: 1995

ISBN: 0-395-69229-6

Plot summary: In medieval England, a nameless, homeless girl is taken in by a sharp-tempered midwife after being found in a dung heap. Despite obstacles and hardships, the young girl selects her own name, makes a home for herself, and gains the three things she most wants: a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in this world.

Critical analysis: There’s no better way to attract the attention of junior readers than with poop. And that’s how author Karen Cushman gets the attention of her readers in the opening sentences of her Newbery Medal-winning historical fiction book called The Midwife’s Apprentice: “When animal droppings and garbage and spoiled straw are piled up in a great heap, the rotting and moiling give forth heat. Usually no one gets close enough to notice because of the stench. But the girl noticed and, on that frosty night, burrowed deep into the warm, rotting muck, heedless of the smell” (p. 1). Of course, Cushman doesn’t exactly use the word poop – instead she sticks with the style of language used during medieval times -- but junior readers catch on quick and are then pulled in to the character of a scrawny, small, pale and frightened girl that at first they might feel sorry for, but by the end of the book they are rooting for her.

Throughout The Midwife’s Apprentice, we learn that the young girl (first called Brat, then Beetle) lives in a small medieval English country village. She meets the village midwife, who uses Beetle for her own purposes: “Each morning Beetle started the fire, blowing on the night’s embers to encourage them to light the new day’s scraps. She swept the cottage’s dirt floor, sprinkled it with water, and stamped it to keep it hard packed. She roasted the bacon and washed up the mugs and knives and sprinkled fleabane about to keep the fleas down. She dusted the shelves packed with jugs and flasks and leather bottles of dragon dung and mouse ears, frog liver and ashes of toad, snail jelly, borage leaves, nettle juice and the powdered bark of the black alder tree” (p. 12). By learning about Beetle’s chores, junior readers learn about an historical medieval setting that helps them picture the way of life during this time.

During a chance shopping trip for the midwife, Beetle is treated with decency for the first time in her life, which gives her a spark of hope and a new name: Alyce. “What a day. She had been winked at, complimented, given a gift, and now mistaken for the mysterious Alyce who could read. Did she then look like someone who could read?” (p. 31). And then a new theme of confidence appears: “‘Alyce,’ she breathed. Alyce sounded clean and friendly and smart. You could love someone named Alyce./‘This then is me, Alyce.’ It was right” (p. 32). Readers will relate to the theme of wanting to be loved. It’s a fact of life that we all want to love and be loved. As the story continues, Alyce begins to give names to those she loves: Purr the cat and a young boy named Edward. The cat and Edward are helped by Alyce and she begins to trust in her friends and in herself. “She was not an inn girl or a nursery maid or a companion to old women. She was a midwife’s apprentice with a newborn hope of being someday a midwife herself” (p. 114).

Review excerpt:

• 1996 winner, John Newbery Medal
• 1995 gold, Parents’ Choice Award
• 1998 winner, Young Reader’s Choice Award
• 1996 winner, ABC Children’s Booksellers Choices Award

• Children’s Literature by Susie Wilde:  The Midwife's Apprentice starts with an intriguing beginning as the heroine waif, Brat, emerges from a steaming dung heap where she's kept herself warm through a frosty night. Brat does not remember her mother, home or real name. She's rescued from the streets by a none-to-kind midwife who, apropos of their meeting at the story's beginning, re-christens this child, Dung Beetle. Midway through the story, this gutsy fourteenth century heroine, names herself Alyce, choosing the name because it "sounded clean and friendly and smart. You could love someone named Alyce." From that point on, she goes about acquiring the traits she ascribes to her chosen alias. She has, as well, defeated her inner voices of self-disgust, learned to "try and risk and fail and try again and not give up" and finally, has her dream of "a full belly, a contented heart, and a place in the world." 

• The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, May 1995 (Vol. 48, No. 9) by Deborah Stevenson: The book's brevity and simplicity also commend it to older readers who find the era intriguing but are intimidated by more epic tales of medieval life. Cushman adds an historical note about midwifery, which includes mention of the maternal and child mortality that never appears in the story itself. This is an offbeat, well-crafted story; fans of the author's first book will enjoy it.

Connections:

• Other books by author Karen Cushman:

Catherine, Called Birdy ISBN: 9780064405843

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple ISBN: 9780064406840

Matilda Bone ISBN: 9780395881569

Grayling’s Song ISBN: 978-0544301801

• Students could learn more about author Karen Cushman at her website: www.karencushman.com

• Teachers can use this Discussion guide .pdf: http://www.karencushman.com/pdfs/DG_midwife.pdf

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 27, 2016.

Cushman, Karen. The Midwife’s Apprentice. New York: Clarion Books, 1995. 0395692296

Book Review: DASH

Book Review, Genre 5: DASH

Author: Kirby Larson

Title: Dash

Illustrator: Whitney Lyle

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: 2014

ISBN: 978-0-545-41635-1

Plot summary: When her Japanese-American family is forced into an internment camp, 11-year-old Mitsi Kashino is separated from her home and her beloved dog Dash. Living at the camp, Mitsi clings to her one connection to the outer world--the letters from the kindly neighbor who is caring for Dash.

Critical analysis: Author Kirby Larson has created a very believable character in 11-year-old Mitsi Kashino. She goes to school, she has a brother, parents, and a grandmother who lives with her. And she has a dog. Mitsi’s love for her dog Dash shines throughout the book, especially when the historical aspect of the book is brought to the forefront: Mitsi’s Japanese-American family is required by the U.S. government to relocate to an internment camp – everyone in the family except for Dash – after Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and brings America into World War II. The fictional Mitsi even writes a letter (and receives a response) from the very real General John L. DeWitt, who was responsible for incarcerating Japanese Americans from the West Coast. While today’s junior readers might not understand fear created by war, they will understand the never ending love for a pet.

The setting of the book changes from the familiar: a quaint American town, home and school, and changes to the unfamiliar to the reader: internment camps hastily put together by the U.S. Army. “Five Army cots were lined up in the middle of a space smaller than their kitchen at home. There were no mattresses or pillows or blankets on the cots. Just some cotton bags. Except for a stove for heat, the cots were the only furnishings. No table. No chairs. No nothing” (p. 98).

The theme of the power of family love shines throughout the book as each member of the Kashino family stands up for what they believe in while being held at the camp: Mitsi believes her dog Dash should be allowed at the camp; Mitsi’s mom, dad and grandmother believe that staying positive and supporting your neighbor will overcome many inconveniences; Mitsti’s brother believes that crime doesn’t pay.

The style captures the essence of the early 1940s: America is plunged into war, bigotry flares, and there is no end in sight to the fear of not knowing what could happen next. Readers can believe the trials the fictional Kashino family had to endure by the amount of evidence that author Larson presents in her writing. At the end of the book, Larson explains her Author’s Note how she found inspiration for the book through her research from a diary about a dog kept by a kind American woman while a Japanese-American family were sent away. Larson says, “I can’t imagine how hard it was for Mitsi to be separated from [her dog] when she had no idea how long the separation would last. … Every story needs a heart hook, and that was mine.”

Review excerpt:

• 2015 winner, Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
• 2014 Master List, National Parenting Publications Award
• 2014 Gold Winner, National Association of Parenting Publications Awards
• 2016 nominee, Magnolia Award

• Booklist, July 1, 2014 (vol. 110, no. 21) by Ilene Cooper: Based on a true story of a girl who had to leave her dog, this book helps readers understand the hardship that Japanese American citizens endured while at the same time offering a story of one girl with relatable hopes and worries. What also comes through is how a strong family can pull together in the worst of circumstances.

• Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2014 (vol. 82, no. 12): Eleven-year-old Mitsi Kashino and her family are forced to move to a Japanese internment camp following the attack on Pearl Harbor.The Japanese-Americans are forced to leave their homes, their jobs, and all but what they can carry. Unfortunately for Mitsi, this also means leaving her beloved dog, Dash, behind. Thankfully, a good-hearted neighbor agrees to take Dash in. The neighbor writes letters to Mitsi, composing them from Dash's point of view, and these keep Mitsi connected with the world beyond the fence. 

Connections:

• Librarians can show this book trailer to promote Dash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61fcuviTPw

• Dash is the second book in the Dogs of World War II series by Kirby Larson. The first book in the series is Duke ISBN: 9780545416375. The third book in the series is Liberty ISBN: 978-0545840712

• Learn more about author Kirby Larson at www.kirbylarson.com

• Other books by Kirby Larson:

1. Hattie Big Sky ISBN: 9780385903325
2. Hattie Ever After ISBN: 9780385737463
3. The Friendship Doll ISBN: 9780385906678
4. Audacity Jones to the Rescue ISBN: 9780545840569

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 27, 2016.

Larson, Kirby. Dash. New York: Scholastic Press, 2014. 9780545416351

Book Review: THE RIGHT WORD: ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS

BOOK REVIEW, GENRE 4: THE RIGHT WORD: ROGET AND HIS THESAURUS

Author: Jen Bryant

Title: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

Illustrator: Melissa Sweet

Publisher: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 2014

ISBN: 9780802853851

Plot summary: The story of British physician Peter Mark Roget and how the events from his youth created a need for order. That need manifests itself into a list of words in neat rows until he has so many notebooks filled that a book was created: Roget’s Thesaurus. Roget’s hope was every person, no matter their profession, could consult his book to find just the right word.

Critical analysis: The collage design of The Right Word was what first drew me to select this book for review. The use of ephemera mixed with line art and watercolor drawings make crazy quilt illustrations -- your eye is always finding something new you hadn’t yet seen. Illustrator Melissa Sweet wrote in her Illustrator’s Note that it was Roget’s vertical red line separating his entries in the original 1805 word book that inspired her to use collages in the illustration.

There are many nuggets of information throughout the book which adds credibility to the accuracy in the events told in this children’s biography. A List of Principal Events not only includes main events in Roget’s life, but also world events. The Author’s Note tells the story of what piqued her interest in Peter Mark Roget. For readers who would like to explore more, there is a Selected Bibliography and a For Further Reading. What I feel the readers would enjoy seeing most is a picture of a page from Roget’s original word book.

Author Jen Bryant opens The Right Word with Roget as a small boy when his father died in 1783. The story moves forward chronologically from there. Due to the many moves his family had to make, Roget found friends wherever he went in his books: “Peter’s family moved often, so making friends was difficult. But books, Peter discovered, were also good friends. There were always plenty of them around, and he never had to leave them behind.” Readers learn that Roget made word lists as a coping mechanism: “And when he put them in long, neat rows, he felt as if the world itself clicked into order.”

Bryant’s writing incorporates a thesaurus-type style when Roget frets on finding just the right word to use: “Perhaps worry wasn’t quite the right word. What was the right word? Peter began a new list: worry, fret, grieve, despair, intrude, badger, annoy, plague, provoke, harass, enough to drive one mad. How wonderful it felt to find just the right word!” Very appropriate for a biography on the man who created Roget’s Thesaurus – which has stayed in print continuously since 1852.

Review excerpt:

• 2015 Randolph Caldecott Medal honor book
• 2015 winner, Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal
• Best Children’s Books of the Year, 2015, Bank Street College of Education
• 2015 winner, Golden Kite Award, United States
• 2014 winner Lupine Award

• The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, November 2014 (Vol. 68, No. 3), by Elizabeth Bush: “Most kids will encounter a thesaurus at sometime in their education, and Bryant encourages a sense of wonder about the kind of guy who would dream up such a tome.”

• Children’s Literature, by Jean Boreen, Ph. D.: “While I am very familiar with Roget s Thesaurus, I have to admit that I had never given much thought to Roget himself, or why he put his lists of words and definitions together. After reading this delightful picture book, though, I now have a real appreciation for Peter Mark Roget, his love of books, and his lists of words.”

• Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2014 (Vol. 82, No. 15): “Sweet embeds vintage bits (ledger paper, type drawers, botanical illustrations and more), creating a teeming, contemplative, playfully celebratory opus. In a word: marvelous!”

Connections:

• Students can visit Jen Bryan’s web site to learn more about her works: http://www.jenbryant.com/

• Librarians can share this book trailer to entice students to read the book: https://animoto.com/play/sefjwM77x6QLfOrR10ot4g

• Other books by Jen Bryant:

A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams ISBN: 9780802853028

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin ISBN: 9780375867125

Georgia’s Bones ISBN: 0802852173

Bibliography

Bryant, J. (2014). The right word: Roget and his thesaurus. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers. 9780802853851

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 12, 2016.

Book Review: WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE?

Book Review, Genre 4: WHAT TO DO ABOUT ALICE? HOW ALICE ROOSEVELT BROKE THE RULES, CHARMED THE WORLD, AND DROVE HER FATHER TEDDY CRAZY!

Author: Barbara Kerley

Title: What to do About Alice? How Alice Roosevelt Broke the Rules, Charmed the World, and Drove Her Father Teddy Crazy!

Illustrator: Edwin Fotheringham

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Publication Date: 2008

ISBN: 9780439922319

Plot summary: A biography of Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt and his first wife, who continuously sought adventure and caused trouble for her father in the White House.

Critical analysis: Author Barbara Kerley says she was inspired to write What to do About Alice? after seeing a picture of Alice Roosevelt looking glamorous and intelligent in a magazine and learning that “her high jinks captivated America and drove her father crazy.” Kerley accurately depicts the restraint expected of woman at the turn of the century and Alice’s desire to change the status quo.

What to do About Alice? is organized chronologically and opens with a few pages on Teddy Roosevelt’s accomplishments; one of which was his daughter and her desire to “eat up the world.” Readers learn about Alice from her birth, the physical obstacles she had to overcome, how she hated being referred to as “The Poor Little Thing!”, and how she succeeded in living a zestful life.

In addition to reading about her high jinks, readers can infer Alice’s pranks and attitudes on life through the digital media illustrations by Edwin Fotheringham. The artwork’s design lends itself to being pulled off the shelf, the colors and use of different fonts will draw the readers in to learn more about Alice.

Kerley’s writing style is lively and moves in a dance with the artwork. Key phrases are emphasized in bold block lettering and reinforced in the illustrations. For example, “Father couldn’t bear to see Alice so unhappy. When school started in the fall, Alice stayed home after all. She came up with her own solution for her education. She said to Father, ‘LET ME LOOSE IN YOUR LIBRARY.’ She taught herself astronomy, geology, even Greek grammar. She read Twain, Dickens, Darwin, and the Bible, cover to cover. Every morning she told Father what she had learned the day before.” The double-page illustration shows Alice zooming about a library with books on the mentioned subjects sitting on a table while Teddy’s taxidermied animals look on.

The book finishes with an Author’s Note about the different roles of Alice: sister, princess, and monument. This is an excellent book to add to a school library’s children’s biography section because Alice’s influence helped change attitudes towards how women should behave. Girls will feel empowered after reading this book.

Review excerpt:

• Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Honor, 2009.
• Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2009.

• Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 3): Theodore Roosevelt's irrepressible oldest child receives an appropriately vivacious appreciation in this superb picture book. "From the time she was a little girl, Alice ate up the world." Taking her thematic approach from Alice's own self-description, Kerley's precise text presents readers with a devilishly smart, strong-willed girl who was determined to live life on her own terms and largely succeeded. 

• Booklist, Jan. 1, 2008 (Vol. 104, No. 9) by Ilene Cooper: The large format gives Fotheringham, in his debut, plenty of room for spectacular art, which includes use of digital media. In almost every picture, Alice is running, motoring, racing. One clever spread shows what it was like to be a media princess: newspaper pages fly across the spread, obscuring Alice.

Connections:

• Librarians could do a study on biographies of the Roosevelts ending in a Living Wax Museum (for ideas, do an internet search for “living wax museum”) presentation by the students. In addition to What to do About Alice?, students could read:

Bully for You, Teddy Roosevelt! By Jean Fritz ISBN: 0590455168 

Eleanor Roosevelt by Russell Freedman ISBN: 0590489097 

Who Was Franklin Roosevelt? By Margaret Frith IBSN: 9780448453460

• Students can visit author Barbara Kerley’s web site to learn more about her, her works and view book trailers: http://www.barbarakerley.com/Site/Welcome.html

• Students can visit illustrator Edwin Fotheringham’s website to view more of his artwork: http://www.edfotheringham.com/

• Other books by author Barbara Kerley:

The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins: An Illuminating History of Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins, Artist and Lecturer ISBN: 0439114942

The Extraordinary Mark Twain (According to Susy) ISBN: 9780545125086

Those Rebels, John and Tom ISBN: 9780545222686

A Home for Mr. Emerson ISBN: 9780545350884

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 12, 2016.

Kerley, B., & Fotheringham, E. (2008). What to do about Alice?: How Alice Roosevelt broke the rules, charmed the world, and drove her father Teddy crazy!. New York: Scholastic Press. 9780439922319

Book Review: BIGGEST, STRONGEST, FASTEST

Book Review, Genre 4: BIGGEST, STRONGEST, FASTEST  

Author: Steve Jenkins

Title: Biggest, Strongest, Fastest

Illustrator: Steve Jenkins

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company

Publication Date: 1995

ISBN: 0395697018

Plot summary: Introduces the world's smallest, largest, strongest, fastest, and slowest creatures, their characteristics, and behavior. Readers can see each animal’s size in relation to something familiar along with a short fact.

Critical analysis: The opening page entices readers: they are about to embark on a journey of “the record holders of the animal world.” Buckle up! Readers spend the next 28 pages following well-organized and detailed paper collages of big, strong and fast animals.

Author and illustrator Steve Jenkins uses a simple organizational format for young readers to learn about each animal represented: “The African elephant is the biggest land animal” and “The Etruscan shrew, the world’s smallest mammal, could sleep in a teaspoon.”

Each animal is depicted in a cut-paper collage that is so full of texture, the reader would want to touch the page and then feel disappointed in feeling flat paper. The pages are designed with sidebars of a few sentences of information for each animal along with a representation of how each animal’s size compares to an adult human or a hand.

Jenkins’ clear writing style inspires curiosity in readers to want to learn more about the animals shown … and they can infer more information at the end of the book where Jenkins has compiled a table with the record, size, diet and range of each animal in his book.

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest would be a welcome addition to any elementary school library. The design is child-friendly and would get checked out often by students. The book would be well received in a story time setting or a book talk on Jenkins’ works.

Review excerpt:

• School Library Journal Book Review Stars, May 1995
• Texas Reading Club, 1998
• Mockingbird Award, 1995-1996, Nominee

• Booklist, Feb. 1, 1995 (Vol. 91, No. 11) by Hazel Rochman: The book's design makes it accessible at many levels. The youngest can identify the various creatures. Preschoolers can enjoy the one-sentence descriptions in large type ("The cheetah can run faster than any other animal. . . . The flea is very small, but it is the world's best jumper"). Older kids will love thinking about the additional facts regarding scale and proportion that are printed in small type, accompanied by a tiny silhouette in the corner of each picture ("If a 5 1/2-foot-tall woman could jump as well as a flea, she could leap to the top of a 65-story building"). Here's proof that power isn't just about size and that science can be a lot of fun. 

• Children’s Literature by Marilyn Courtot: For kids who ask those impossible questions-- what animal is the biggest, or smallest, longest or shortest, and so on--Jenkins has created a delightful series of answers using full color cut paper collage illustrations. From the streaking cheetah on the cover to the tiny Etruscan shrew sitting on a teaspoon, readers see the animal and learn salient facts plus a few more delicious tidbits. Cleverly done and sure to appeal to both the littlest and biggest of readers. 

Connections:

• Learn more about author Steven Jenkins at his website: http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com/
• The librarian can read the book Move! by Steve Jenkins and then show a video made by Jenkins’ son depicting how he created the illustrations for the book: http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com/making_books_video.html
• Other books by Steve Jenkins:

Actual Size ISBN: 0618375945

Bones: Skeletons and How They Work ISBN: 9780545046510

Move! ISBN: 061864637X

What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? ISBN: 0618256288

How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships IBSN: 9780547994840

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 12, 2016.

Jenkins, S. (1995). Biggest, strongest, fastest. New York: Ticknor & Fields Books for Young Readers. 0395697018

Book trailer: DASH

DASH

by Kirby Larson

Scholastic Press, New York

2014

ISBN: 9780545416351

Please follow the link to view a book trailer I made for my midterm project in LS5603:

https://youtu.be/d61fcuviTPw

I would like to thank my models, Jenna, and her dog, Max, for giving their time for this project. Thanks also goes to Jenna's mom, Julie, for assisting me and being our cheerleader. And I would have pulled my hair out on the mp3 portion of the video if it weren't for my husband, Matt, who said he would like to earn a Master's for all of his efforts.

I was unhappy with one portion of the video, and that was the Bibliography. While it's all there, it isn't very clear and flashes by quickly (due to my limitations with a free trial of Animoto). So, below, please find the full Bibliography for the video:

Bibliography

Densho. Administration building. June, 1943. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration, Seattle, Washington. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://ddr.densho.org/ddr/densho/37/825/

Densho. Street scene in camp. 1943-1945. Courtesy of the Bigelow Family Collection, Seattle, Washington. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://ddr.densho.org/ddr/densho/156/13/

Larson, Kirby. Dash. New York, NY: Scholastic Press, 2014. ISBN: 9780545416351

Nicola, Marco. I Had a Dog and His Name Was Dog. Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial. 2015. Mp3 Accessed October 12, 2016. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/MarcoNicola/51790 Ft: billyraydrums

Pearl Harbor naval base and U.S.S. Shaw ablaze after the Japanese attack. 1941. Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98506923/

Setting; view to northwest through Stockade fence, to a scene little changed since 1945; 90mm lens. – Tule Lake Project Jail, Post Mile 44.85, State route 139, Newell, Modoc County, CA. Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ca1535.photos.013429p/

USS Arizona, at height of fire, following Japanese aerial attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. December, 1941. Miscellaneous Items in High Demand, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C. Accessed October 12, 2016. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/92500933/

Wilson, Amy L. Book Cover. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Copycat. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---, DeWitt’s Response, Wilson, Matthew, mp3, accessed October 12, 2016.

---. Enjoying Back Yard. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Just Like the Book Cover. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Locket, Pencils, and Paper. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Memories of Porch. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Reunited. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

---. Smiling on Porch. October, 2016. Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

Book Review: WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN'T KNOW

Book Review, Genre 3: WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW

Author: Sonya Sones

Title: What My Mother Doesn’t Know

Illustrator: Jennifer Reyes

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 2001

ISBN: 9780689855535

Plot summary: Told in the poetic form of novel in verse, this is the story of Sophie, a 15-year-old Jewish girl, describing the ups and downs of her life with a focus on her relationships with a series of boys until she finds Mr. Right.

Critical analysis: The title of the book caught my attention first: What My Mother Doesn’t Know. As a daughter and as a mom myself, I was curious to find out what the mother didn’t know. This is the story of Sophie, a 15-year-old girl who knows more about her parent’s relationship than they realize and who is having relations with boys – also without her parent’s knowledge. Told in verse novel style, each poem can stand alone as a moving, independent work. However, put together in this 259-page book, the individual poems turn into a novel that might be a quick read, but has plenty of depth.

As a former 15-year-old girl whose parents were oblivious to her while they worked on their failing marriage, I empathized with Sophie. Sones’ use of emotion in her poems flowed naturally from poem to poem and made me feel as if I were Sophie. Sophie desires the attention of her mother and father and realizes that she will never get the warmth from her father she desires. Sophie hasn’t given up on her mom, though, and as it turns out, her mother does understand what Sophie is going through once she takes the time to truly listen to her daughter: “’…is something the matter?’/ ‘Yes,’ I say./ ‘Everything.’/ ‘I know how you feel,’ she says.”

Review excerpt:

• 2012 Privacy Between the Pages Selected Books for Older Children and Teens, Cooperative Children’s Book Center
• 2004-2005 Volunteer State Book Award, Nominee Tennessee
• 2003 Young Adults’ Choices, International Reading Association
• 2001 Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth, American Library Association

From Booklist, Nov. 15, 2001 (Vol. 98, No. 6) by Hazel Rochman: The poetry is never pretentious or difficult; on the contrary, the very short, sometimes rhythmic lines make each page fly. Sophie's voice is colloquial and intimate, and the discoveries she makes are beyond formula, even while they are as sweetly romantic as popular song. A natural for reluctant readers, this will also attract young people who love to read. 

From Kirkus Reviews, Sept. 15, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 18): Laid out in a series of mostly free-verse poems, however, the text gets at the emotional state of this girl so completely and with such intensity that a conventional narrative framework would simply dilute the effect.

Connections:

·         Students can learn more about author Sonya Sones and her other works at: http://www.sonyasones.com/

·         Other books by Sonya Sones:

o   Saving Red. (Available Oct. 18, 2016) ISBN: 9780062370280

o   Stop Pretending. ISBN: 0060283874

o   To Be Perfectly Honest. ISBN: 9780689876042

o   What My Girlfriend Doesn’t Know. (sequel to What My Mother Doesn’t Know) IBSN: 0689876025

·         Similar books like What My Mother Doesn’t Know:

o   The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder. ISBN: 9781442417434

o   The Geography of Girlhood by Kirsten Smith. ISBN: 9780316017350

o   Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. ISBN: 9780060292898

o   The Secret of Me by Meg Kearney. ISBN: 0892553227

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 7, 2016.

Sones, S. (2001). What my mother doesn’t know. New York: Simon & Schuster

Book Review: WE ARE AMERICA: A TRIBUTE FROM THE HEART

Book Review, Genre 3: WE ARE AMERICA: A TRIBUTE FROM THE HEART

Author: Walter Dean Myers

Title: We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart

Illustrator: Christopher Myers

Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books

Publication Date: 2011

ISBN: 9780060523084

Plot summary: Whether you read the individual poems, or read the book as one whole poem, We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart by Walter Dean Myers explores the diversity in people, wealth, dreams and desire that make up the United States. The author’s son, Christopher, creates mural-like paintings for readers to look at as if hearing the poem in a museum setting.

Critical analysis: At first blush, this is a patriotic poem in a children’s picture book format. The reader will find much more depth to the poems and illustrations when they take the time to read the Author’s Note by Walter Dean Myers: “We Are America comes from my heart, but it also comes from a lifetime of observations. … This is simply my truest feelings for my country, my tribute to America.”

The illustrations by Christopher Myers, son of the poet and author Walter Dean Myers, takes the reader on a journey of America’s history while simultaneously relating the past to the present with illustrations depicting images one could see on the nightly national news. Quotes from America’s history are scattered throughout the pages and tie in with the poems and illustrations. At the back of the book, readers can learn more about the meaning of the quotes, as well as notes on the artwork.

On a page illustrated with ships, Walter Dean Myers writes: “I dreamed a freedom dream/I heard a freedom song/The pull of hope/The taut bow of anticipation/The arrow of adventure/Flying across the ocean.” Myers conveys his pride in being an American through his use of poetic language: freedom, hope, anticipation, adventure – all things people coming to American dream of.

To fully immerse yourself in the poem picture book of We Are America, read the poems while imagining yourself at a history museum. Look at the illustrations as if they are murals lining the museum hallways. Hear the words of the poems as if standing and observing the museum murals. Read the Author’s Note, the Artist’s Note, the Quotations, and the Art Notes as aides of understanding at the museum exhibits.

Review excerpt:

• 2013 Audie Award, Finalist United States
• 2011 Cybils Awards, Finalist United States
• 2011 Kirkus Best Children’s Books

From Booklist May 1, 2011 (Vol. 107, No. 17) by Andrew Medlar: Walter Dean Myers’s narrative can be read as a single poem or multiple offerings, each one exploring a different facet of America from past to present. Myers moves chronologically forward in time as he reveals defining events in the history of a nation still emerging. Christopher Myers s illustrations appear like murals on each page spread, offering a stunning panorama of the nation’s history juxtaposed with images of who we are today. 

From Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2011 (Vol. 79, No. 7): The Myers team shares their heartfelt and stirring vision of an America flawed but filled with promises and dreams. Like weavers connecting warp and woof, father threads lofty words and son paints seamless pictures. Each double-page spread contains a brief poem and usually a quote from a relevant document or person. A mural rendered in pastels spans both pages. Homage is paid to young people; Native Americans; immigrants from Europe, Africa and Asia; laborers, protesters, soldiers and performers.

Connections:

• Teachers can learn more about Walter Dean Myers for booktalks and author information at: http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/contributor/walter-dean-myers

• Could be included in a story time theme around patriotic holidays. Other patriotic books to share:

1. America: A Patriotic Primer by Lynne Cheney. ISBN: 978-0689851926
2. America the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates. ISBN: 978-0316083386

• Other books about September 11th students might enjoy:

1. September 11 Then and Now. ISBN: 978-0531266298
2. I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001. ISBN: 978-0545207003
3. What Were the Twin Towers? ISBN: 978-0448487854

• Other works by Walter Dean Myers:

1. The Dream Bearer. ISBN: 9780064472890
2. Jazz. ISBN: 9780823415458
3. Sunrise Over Fallujah. ISBN: 9780439916240
4. Now Is Your Time! The African-American Struggle for Freedom. ISBN: 0060243708

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 7, 2016.

Myers, W. D., & Myers, C. (2011). We are America: A tribute from the heart. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books. 

Book Review: A DIME A DOZEN

Book Review, Genre 3: A DIME A DOZEN

Author: Nikki Grimes

Title: A Dime a Dozen

Illustrator: Angelo

Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: 1998

ISBN: 0803722273

Plot summary: An autobiographical collection of poems about African-American poet Nikki Grimes while she was growing up in New York.

Critical analysis: I will admit: as a blonde-haired, blue-eyed white Southern girl, I didn’t think I would have anything in common with author and poet Nikki Grimes in her book of poetry titled A Dime a Dozen.

I was wrong.

I, too, wanted to be a writer and was discouraged from the profession: “Writers are a dime a dozen/a dime a dozen/a dime--/I heard those words one time too many/ from my own mother who/worried I would fail and said/‘Find another dream instead’.” I, too, had parents that went through a divorce: “My parents/got divorced/last month/…I guess/I fit in now.” I, too, had a dad who would make promises he couldn’t keep: “I cried in bed/again/and wondered if/or when/you’d learn to keep/your promises.”

Grimes use of emotion in her poetry reaches out and touches the reader, thus mirroring their own feelings. Angelo, the illustrator, created beautiful pencil drawings that could pass for personal black and white pictures belonging to Nikki Grimes. Each drawing emphasized the mental picture of the poem.  I felt for the young girl from New York and was very happy knowing she is now a famous poet despite the odds against her. And if this poetry could warm my heart, I know it could also have meaning in the lives of other children.

Review excerpt:

• 2000 Best Children’s Books of the Year, Bank Street College of Education

From Booklist, Dec. 1, 1998 (Vol. 95, No. 7), by Susan Dove Lempke: The black-and-white drawings illustrating each poem reinforce the sense that the African Americans in the poems are vivid individuals, not fuzzy generalizations. Free-flowing and very accessible, the poetry may inspire readers to distill their own life experiences into precise, imaginative words and phrases.

From Kirkus Reviews, 1998: Where do writers come from? In autobiographical poems, Grimes traces her struggle to find her voice from an early age; short verses explore the pain and pleasure of growing up. Everyday events come to the fore--a game of hopscotch, a stroll with her mother, playing gin rummy--and help Grimes examine how she fits in with her family and what values they share. Other poems reveal her fear of the unspoken secrets in the family, her disappointment with broken promises, her worries for the future. 

Connections:

• Students can learn more about Nikki Grimes at her website: http://www.nikkigrimes.com/ Teachers can follow the link to Teacher tips, where Nikki Grimes gives permission to download or copy all materials from her site.

• Other books by author Nikki Grimes:

1. Bronx Masquerade. ISBN: 0803725698
2. Meet Danitra Brown. ISBN: 0688154719
3. Talkin’ About Bessie: The Story of Aviator Elizabeth Coleman. ISBN: 0439352436
4. The Road to Paris. ISBN: 0399245375

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. October 7, 2016.

Grimes, N. & Angelo. (1998). A dime a dozen. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers.